Trust is a central aspect to the management of employees. If your employees do not trust you, any healthy working relationship that existed will likely quickly deteriorate. This leads to poor job performance. Your employees may even quit to work for another business. It is very important to rebuild any trust lost between you and your employees if you wish to return to the working relationship you had prior to the loss of trust.
Instructions
1. Speak with your employees about the loss of trust. You must listen carefully to the concerns and feelings of your employees to gain insight on the situation. This allows for the negative feelings of your employees to rise to the surface.
2. Establish a safe environment for your employees to discuss the situation with you. This might include a specially set-aside time in a conference room to have a discussion. Allowing your employees to verbalize their feelings helps to establish a trusting relationship by demonstrating that you care about your relationship.
3. Recognize that your employees are hurt and have lost their trust in you. Provide emotional support to your employees by speaking to them about the situation. Give your employees context and any circumstances about the situation of which they may be unaware. By doing so, you can re-frame the experience of each employee so that he may see the negative event in a better light.
4. Apologize and take responsibility for any part you had in the loss of trust. Establish a plan to rebuild trust with your employees. Do not merely promise to rebuild trust, but follow through with your actions. Prevent future losses of trust and continue to be there for your employees.
5. Focus the energy of your employees on other tasks and towards the future instead of dwelling on the negative past. Create realistic expectations for your employees regarding your relationship with them. Explain to your employees that they must accept what has occurred and the only thing to do is to move forward.
